DISCONTINUED A Boy Made of Stars
by lipstickdevil
Summary: Nora Lockwood has a gift. She can see visions, images of future events. What she doesn't see is Sirius Black. They don't fit in each other's worlds and are as different as two people can be. Nora represents everything Sirius is dying to escape. But looks can be deceiving and in a world as cruel as this, Nora will do whatever it takes to survive and protect those she cares about.
1. To 1976

**PART ONE**

 _"She dealt her pretty words like Blades—_

 _How glittering they shone—_

 _And every One unbared a Nerve_

 _Or wantoned with a Bone—_

 _She never deemed—she hurt—_

 _That—is not Steel's Affair—_

 _A vulgar grimace in the Flesh—_

 _How ill the Creatures bear—_

 _To Ache is human—not polite—_

 _The Film upon the eye_

 _Mortality's old Custom—_

 _Just locking up—to Die."_

Emily Dickinson

Nora watched as the snow fell, fluffy snowflakes dusted the bare branches of trees but melted at contact with the ground. She watched with some amusement as a fat little squirrel scurried up the tree before looking at her through the window. Her gaze glossed over until she could no long see the window or the scene outside, but instead it was as if she was speeding through a tunnel, full of burning green light. She could see familiar faces in the fire, eyes glued to her. Then the image shifted to an old house, empty and decaying. She had a very clear image of a herself even though she looked quiet different- dirty and fearful.

Nora blinked back into reality as the door opened behind her and quickly shut again. The squirrel was gone. She turned around to see her brother, Nicholas, leaning against the wall.

"What?" She asked.

"Are you ready?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

She blinked slowly, trying to understand what he meant. She looked him up and down, seeing him in dress robes.

"Oh, right. The party." She sighed and shook her head. "I just need my shoes."

"Mum hates that dress, y'know." He watched her move around the room, steadying her balance with a hand on her bed.

"Mum hates everything." She huffed, straightening up and finding her balance in the heels.

"Are you alright?" Nicholas asked, eyes narrowing. "Did you have a vision?"

She took a deep breath. "I don't know. It wasn't complete…just some random images." Nora shrugged. She knew it wasn't that simple. He knew that as well. Nora had a rather unique skill with Divination. Her parents had discouraged her from taking the subject and even more from developing her Sight, thinking she had made it up. They did not believe in it, and like most people, thought it a worthless form of magic. That didn't change the fact that she did have visions and found that her predications were often scarily accurate. Nicholas was one of the few people who actually believed her.

"C'mon. We're already fashionably late to the party." He held out his arm for her and the two left the room. They didn't say anything as they made their way down the hall and to the staircase. Once on the main floor they separated into the throng of people: family friends, colleagues, and anyone her parents thought were important.

"Nora!" A hand pulled her to the side. Noelle Zabini smiled at her. Her hair was smoothed down- it usually was when she was home. Nora always loved with Noelle's hair was in its natural, curled, untamed state, but Mrs. Zabini did not agree.

"Hey," Nora returned the smile, relieved that her best friend was the first person she came in contact with.

"Your mother seems to have outdone herself." Noelle took a sip of a gold liquid. "This champagne is top notch."

Nora laughed. "Where's your date?"

Noelle surveyed the room briefly and shrugged. "Avery is around here somewhere."

"How is that going by the way?

"He's a good kisser, so…fine." Noelle smirked, "I doubt it'll last long."

Nora shook her head. Noelle was, for lack of a better word, a player. Nora was one of the only people thatNoelle was actually herself around. Not unlike most pureblood women, Noelle was rather cold on the surface. Emotions could easily be manipulated, so it was better to prevent that. Noelle and Nora had been friends since they were children, throughout their schooling, and now found themselves incredibly close. Noelle was smart, manipulative, and beautiful, but she was unbelievably loyal and full of love.

"Avery probably went off to find Evan." Noelle said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Another person for me to avoid," Nora sighed.

"Just tell him you're not interested." Noelle said.

"You know that's not the reason I'm avoiding him."

"I'd bet he'd leave you alone though." Noelle finished off her drink.

"There you are," Gabriel Avery said, coming up behind Noelle, his arm slinking around her waist. "Hello Nora."

"Gabriel," she nodded.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked Noelle.

"Sure," She said, her expression shifting to an almost picturesque look of sweetness. Nora almost laughed. The two headed off the dance floor. Nora picked up a glass of wine as a tray passed by. She took a large gulp, before making her way through the crowd. She nodded and smiled at people as they passed. She caught sight of Nicholas with Narcissa Black. Narcissa wasn't looking at him, but at her hands which were tight around the glass in her hands. Nora had only once seen Narcissa's perfect façade crack and that had been when she broke up with Nicholas. She was certain Narcissa loved her brother but in their families, love didn't get you very far.

Nora could feel her mind growing foggy, clouding her sight. She could still see Narcissa but not as she was. She was older, hands touching a face that seemed eerily familiar. _'Is Draco alive?'_

"Nora!"

She jumped, eyes snapping into focus. She blinked and found herself staring into the face of Evan Rosier.

"Evan."

"Are you alright?" He put his hand to her elbow.

"Yes, thank you." She pulled on a smile.

"Good," He glanced at his feet. "I was wondering if we could talk for a moment? Alone?"

"Oh, well, Evan." She frowned slightly. "I don't know if that's a great idea."

"Please," his hand was still on her arm and his eyes locked with hers.

"Alright," she sighed. She took his hand and led him out of the main room. There were people milling about in the hallway so she led him to the kitchen. There were a few house elves mucking about. "Could we have the room?"

The elf standing close to her let out a squeak and bowed low before rushing from the room. The others followed suit. Evan didn't say anything for a moment, just hovered near the counter.

"I know you told me to give you space."

"I remember." Nora shifted her weight and leaned against the door. "I haven't changed my mind."

"I told you I loved you." Evan finally looked at her, his brow furrowed.

"That doesn't change anything."

"Doesn't it?"

Nora took a sharp breath. "Evan, I can't do this with you and you know why."

"No, I don't. You haven't talked to me and you have yet to tell me why you're doing this to us."

"Calm down. We are fifteen. We had a fling and you fucked it up." Nora shrugged.

"I know how I feel about you." His jaw clenched.

"You don't really know me," Nora sighed. "We've known each other a long time but you don't _know_ me. You…you don't care about people Evan, just what you can get from them."

"Nora-"

"I saw what you and your friends did to Ava Allaire." Nora said.

"Why do you care about her? She's just some-"

"Mudblood?" Nora finished. "Yeah, but she's still a person."

Evan opened his mouth as if to retort, but he shut it quickly. A tense silence paused for a moment before he finally spoke. "People like her don't even compare to us."

Nora laughed humorlessly. "You're cruel, Evan...I don't give a shit if you hate Muggleborns, I really don't. But I already have a Death Eater for a brother and I don't want one as a boyfriend."

"I'm not a Death Eater."

"Yet," Nora rubbed a hand over her face. "I refuse to get sucked into this 'war'. I don't want any part of it."

"You don't have a choice!" He exclaimed, taking a step towards her. She pushed herself from the wall, and stepped close of him. Their faces were inches apart.

"Would you kill me for the Dark Lord, Evan?" She lifted her hand to his face, lightly tracing his jaw. He seemingly, involuntarily leaned into her touch.

"Of course not." He breathed.

"If I don't have a choice, then you might not either." She said before pressing her lips lightly against his cheek. Before he could say anything else she turned away from him and left the room.

She turned opposite of the direction of the party, and instead stepped through a door to the back yard. A burst of cold air bit her skin as she shut the door behind her and stepped into the yard. She carelessly kicked off her shoes and placed her bare feet against the icy grass.

"Rough night?"

Nora jumped and spun around. Sirius Black was leaning against the wall, just out of view from the door. She felt a flash of irritation. "Can't get away for a second," She muttered and let out a huff of air. She turned away from him, staring out into the darkness before her.

"What are you doing here, Black?"

"Here as in the party or outside?" He said, voice laced with humor. She could practically feel his smirk.

"Both."

"My mother is trying to 'socialize' me." He said. Nora looked over her shoulder at him kicking his shoe at the grass.

"She hasn't figured out it's a lost cause yet?"

"Apparently not." He said and glanced at her.

"She ought to cut her losses." Nora said. "Any idiot could see how pointless that endeavor is."

He made a noise of agreement. The two stood in silence. Nora hadn't spoken to Black in a long time. Once upon a time they had been friends, or at least, friendly. Their fathers were friends which had intertwined their lives early on. He'd been to her house more times than she could count but once they started school, they stopped speaking.

"Here," Sirius said suddenly. Nora watched as he shrugged off his coat and held it out to her. "What? Just because I'm a blood traitor doesn't mean I don't have manners." She cautiously took it, pulling it on for some protection against the wind.

"Thank you."

He nodded, falling into silence once more. Nora looked up at the sky, spotting Sirius- the star. "How is Andromeda?"

"What?"

"I figured you kept in touch…being fellow blood traitors and all." Nora raised an eyebrow, as she faced him. He let out a low laugh.

"She's happy." Sirius eyed her curiously.

"Is it true she had a baby?" Nora asked.

"Nymphadora." Sirius said.

"That's a terrible name." Nora laughed. "She may have avoided the star theme but it looks like Andromeda is still a Black after all, what with a name like that."

Sirius smirked and nodded.

Nora thought for a moment. "Do you want to see something?"

"What?"

"It'll get you further from the party." She watched him consider it before shrugging. She reached out and took his hand before leading him further into the yard. They reached the edge, were the woods met her yard. He stopped.

"You're not going to kill me are you?" He asked, only somewhat joking.

"Not yet," She laughed and pulled him into the tree line. Her feet followed a familiar path leading her to a slight clearing. It was significantly brighter here then the rest of the woods. There was a pond, the stones on the bottom glittered with a soft glow. "They're moonstones." She explained, letting go of him to stand at the edge of the pond. She sat down, pulling her dress up to slightly so she could.

He sat down as well, several feet away.

"I come here when I need clarity." She said. "It's safe here." She looked over at him, unable to read his expression.

"Why did you show me this?" He looked at her, almost with caution.

"I don't know. I just…well it may sound stupid to you, but I just felt it." Nora turned her gaze to the water. "The only other person who knows about this is Nicholas. He found it and brought me here once."

She paused before saying, "I feel connected to life here, to everything. I don't know why I brought you here or even why I'm telling you, but I am. I feel like I can trust you and I don't feel that very often-with anyone."

"You don't know me." He said, seemingly echoing what she said earlier that evening.

"No, I don't and I'm not pretending to."

xxx

Nora opened her eyes, blinking slowly as she came to consciousness. She rolled onto her side only to jump up at what she saw. Slowly she climbed out of her bed, the night before coming back to her. After she had shown Sirius the clearing-for reasons she could not begin to comprehend- they had ended up back at the house and sneaking a bottle of firewhiskey up to her room. She couldn't remember who had made the first move, but it hardly mattered now that he was asleep in her bed and the only clothing she had on was her underwear. With an arm over her chest she quickly grabbed a shirt from her wardrobe before sneaking into the hall. She pulled the door shut behind her and ran directly into Nicholas.

"Good lord!" She exclaimed, nearly falling into the wall.

Nicholas chuckled, "Sorry. I was just going to the bathroom." He looked her over. "Why aren't you wearing pants?

"I…I just woke up!" She hissed. He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a guy in there?" He made a face. "Gross."

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't want to know what my baby sister gets up to with guys!"

"No! Not that! I meant why do you assume I have someone in there!"

"Look at you! All guilty and hungover!" She shh'd him. "You're too young to be doing _that_ … who is it? Is it Rosier?"

She gawked at him. "No!"

He made a face that clearly showed he was enjoying this. "What a scandal. My sister getting drunk and hooking up with guy who isn't her boyfriend."

"Evan is not my boyfriend." She hit him.

"Oh come on! You can tell me who it is. You know I can keep a secret." Nicholas smirked.

"We are not having this conversation any more." Nora said. They stared each other done for an intense moment before Nicholas made for the door. They struggled before he finally managed to twist the door knob and they both went tumbling in.

"You dick!" Nora said, trying to catch her balance.

"Oh my god." He said, mouth hanging open in surprise. "Sirius Black?!"

Nora quickly closed the door behind them. "Keep your voice down, would you?"

"You hooked up with _Sirius Black_?" Nicholas looked from her face to the sleeping boy. She opened her mouth to say something but just ended up grimacing. Nicholas burst out in laughter which was apparently what it took towake Sirius. He sat up blearily, taking in his surroundings and the siblings.

"Good morning sleeping beauty!" Nicholas laughed. Nora punched his arm, but he was enjoying himself far too much to be bothered.

"G'morning." Sirius said rubbing his fingers into his eyes.

"Aw, look at his bed head." Nicholas finally stopped laughing.

"Oh just piss off." Nora groaned.

"I really didn't think you had it in you," Nicholas smirked. He shook his head and made for the door. "Don't worry, your secret in safe with me."

Nora and Sirius stared at each other once he had left, an awkward air settling in.

"You should probably go. I'm sure your parents are worried about you." Nora said finally.

He snorted, but got up anyway. She tried to look away as he got dressed, but she apparently was not that strong. He tugged his shirt over his head.

"You can use the floo in here," she said. She gestured to the fireplace on the wall behind him.

He didn't say anything as he grabbed a pinch of floo, but before he could do anything she interrupted him. "Look, about last night-"

"Don't worry about it." He said quickly. "It didn't mean anything."

"Right…" Nora took a breath. "Take care of yourself, Black."

He shot her a quick smile and then he was gone. Nora stared at the fireplace a moment longer before letting out a sigh.

"Here's to 1976."


	2. A Plan

Nora left her Divination OWL feeling more conflicted then anything else. She knew she would get flying colors for her work, but it was more of what she saw in the crystal ball that had bothered her. The image of her brothers fighting had been so clear. She didn't know where they were, but they had been shouting words she couldn't make out. She didn't know if she had ever seen Mikael as upset in her entire life. As soon as she had seen the image she could feel _something_ shift. It scared her beyond belief.

She tired to push the image from her head as she found Noelle waiting for her in the courtyard.

"Evan has been badgering me more than usual." She said irritably even though her expression was neutral. Nora just frowned in response. Evan hadn't spoken to her since New Year's but had made a point of catching her eye whenever possible and questioning Noelle about her. "I told Avery I'm going to dump him is he doesn't make him stop. He thought I was joking."

Nora rolled her eyes, "Avery is in love with you."

"Love is overrated." Noelle adjusted her bag, "Speaking of badgers, how is your little pet?"

"Ava isn't a pet-she's my friend." Nora said.

"You just feel guilty about what Mulciber did to her because Evan was there and didn't stop it." Noelle said.

"I did and she knows that." Nora sighed. "You'd like her. She's a lot like you."

Noelle snorted in the most lady-like way. "In what, possible way, is she anything like me?"

"She's loyal, good, trustworthy…and I care about her." Nora gave her a pointed look.

"She's a Hufflepuff." Noelle said.

"Noelle," she said. "I trust her."

Noelle sighed, again, irritably. "Alright." If there was anyone who knew how guarded Nora was with her trust, it would be Noelle.

"Come on, let's get lunch before our Defense exam." Nora said and the two made their way to the Great Hall.

The exam had been easy enough. Nora had finished rather early and had just been glancing around when she made eye contact with Sirius Black. He was leaning back in his chair, looking very too-cool-for-school. His expression didn't give anything away but he maintained the eye contact longer than just a passing glance. When he finally turned his eyes forward, Nora kept hers on him. She frowned and then closed her eyes. There was a slight ache in her temple. She could still see the scene of her brothers playing in her mind. There had to be more. She took a slow breath and steadied her hands on the desk in front of her. She focused on her breathing, letting her mind clear. The image of Mikael and Nicholas arguing flashed again but it shifted quickly to something even more confusing. It was Sirius, his arms supporting a girl. Her hands were clutching his shoulders, face pressed against his chest, but her legs seemed to have given out. The pair sunk to the ground. On of his hands was on her back, the other was behind her neck. There was something about the pair that didn't make any sense, and it wasn't the emotions. The girl's hair was a chocolate brown, waving in random spots- the same as Nora's.

Nora's eyes flew open and it took her a moment to realize that she was still in the Great Hall, sitting an OWL exam. "Five more minutes!" Professor Flitwick chirped, weaving between desks. Nora felt a shiver run down her back as she glanced at Sirius. He didn't see her that time. Once the exam was finished, she rushed to Noelle's side.

"I need some air." She said. Noelle furrowed her brow but obliged, following her from the hall and out onto the grounds.

The pair headed a bit of a ways down from a group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls. Ava was among them and she waved cheerily at Nora, who just forced a smile. Nora found a shady spot and sat down, taking a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Noelle asked, lounging back.

"Nothing really." Nora said, her eyes on the lake. Noelle didn't say anything. She believed that Nora had the Sight, but it made her uncomfortable to think about the future whether it was her own or not. There was something that held her back from sharing what she had seen anyways. She needed to figure out what it meant.

The two sat in silence for a while, just taking in the sun and warm air. They had shrugged off their outer robes so they were just in their button downs and skirts.

Nora glanced over to where Sirius had been. She let out an impatient sigh. "There's something going on over there."

Noelle sat up slightly to see what she meant. When she realized the Gryffindors, or rather Sirius Black and James Potter, were hexing Severus Snape she sat up fully. She reached for her wand. Snape and Noelle were not exactly friends but she always defended him, even to their own house members. Nora wasn't quite sure why. It was possible she just felt bad for Snape.

"You don't need to." Nora said quickly, watching Lily Evans get to her feet and start for the guys. Noelle paused, loosening her grip on her wand.

It wasn't until Snape sent a curse at Potter, a gash appearing on his face that Nora had a realization. That was who she had seen in her vision of Narcissa at New Year's. But, was it really? Narcissa had been older but significantly so in comparison to the boy she had seen, but she was positive it was the same messy hair and face.

They both kept their eyes on the commotion, just out of hearing distance. Lily Evans stormed off and Nora noticed Mary MacDonald, another Mulciber victim, jump up from the edge of the water and rush after her.

Noelle frowned. "Someone ought to stop them." She said, her eyes narrowing. She climbed to her feet, Nora quickly followed. Noelle didn't say anything as she walked up behind Potter and practically body-checked him. He stumbled forward, losing his balance.

"Oy!" He called, distracted enough to drop Snape from the air. "Watch where you're going Zabini!"

"Or what?!" She whirled around. "You gonna hex me too?" She had her wand out. Noelle was an excellent dueler and had a wicked talent for jinxes.

"I might." Potter said rather bravely. Snape got to his feet, nearly about to send another curse the Gryffindor's way when Professor McGonagall came out onto the grounds looking furious. "Potter! Black! Snape!"

Noelle quickly stowed her wand out of sight and stepped out of McGonagall's way.

"Miss Zabini, move on!" She snapped, taking control of the situation. Nora grabbed Noelle's arm and dragged her back into the castle, shooting one last glance at Black who was getting chewed out.

Xxx

Nora found Nicholas sitting in a compartment alone, writing thoughtfully in a diary. He glanced up as she entered but otherwise didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sitting opposite him.

"Planning," He said, scratching his chin.

She rolled her eyes, "Planning what?"

"Can't say."

"Why not?"

He let of an impatient huff, closed the book, and looked up at her. "Nora, it's a secret."

She blinked slowly. "You don't trust me?"

"No! I mean, no that's not it. I do trust you…" He hesitated, glancing at the open compartment door. He jumped up and shut it quickly, before pulling the blinds down the block anyone from seeing in.

"What is going on?" Nora looked at him curiously. He was definitely acting strange. He sat down opposite of her again and took a deep breath.

"You know how I'm going traveling in a few weeks?

"Yeah. Mum still doesn't want you to go." She shrugged. "So?"

"I'm not coming back."

"You mean at the end of the holiday?"

"I mean ever." He looked at his hands. "I can't be like Mikael. I can't be apart of this war. I can't kill anyone but if I don't become a Death Eater they'll kill me for being a blood traitor. That doesn't exactly give me a lot of options. So I have to leave. I have to disappear because of Mikael and Mum and Dad and this _war_."

"So you're running?" Nora kept her eyes on him, her heart racing. "You would do that?"

He nodded his head, his eyes still glued to his hands.

"You…you would leave me?" She asked. He finally looked up at her.

"They could still kill me, if they found me." Nicholas said. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"They could kill me too. For staying." Nora rubbed her face. "I want to come with you."

"You do?"

"Of course I do. You're my brother!" Nora exclaimed.

"Mikael is your brother too."

"Mikael made his choice, just as you have. Now it's my turn. I don't want to be apart of this anymore than you do." Nora nodded to herself. "Besides, I don't know if you're smart enough to make it without me."

He laughed, finally breaking his serious façade. "You're probably right."

"So. What's the plan?" Nora.

"Well," Nicholas leaned back. "While I was traveling I was going to set things up-empty my vault at Gringotts, find somewhere to live where no one would think to look, stuff like that. I'd write home until the very last moment so I don't raise any suspicions."

"Okay, so how can I come with?"

"I'll need to figure that out. It's going to take a while to take care of the finer details." Nicholas shrugged.

Nora nodded, "Okay."

"You can't tell anyone- not even Noelle." He said as he opened his journal and started scribbling. Nora's chest felt tight. What if their parents found out? She had always know Nicholas was nothing like Mikael. Mikael was very much like their father. He was distant, manipulative, and could be especially cruel when it suited him. He felt passionately about what the Dark Lord was doing and had joined the ranks as soon as he could. There were a number of times Nora had read about Muggle deaths and wondered if her oldest brother was responsible.

There was a sharp knock on the compartment door that broke Nora's focus. She peaked through the blinds and with a sigh opened the door. Evan Rosier was waiting outside.

"Noelle said you went to find your brother." He said, peering inside the compartment as if to make sure it was true. "I was wondering if we could have a word."

"I suppose." She sighed and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if we could see each other over the holiday." Evan said. Nora raised her eyebrows.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am." He frowned.

"Why would we do that? We've barely talked in months."

"You told me you needed space." Evan reached out and took her hand is hers. "I miss you."

Nora sighed, her eyes falling to their hands. She still cared about him, but nothing had changed and he knew that. "I don't know, Evan."

"Please… would you at least think about it?" He squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, alright." She looked up at him. They met each other's eyes and after a moment he leaned in to lightly kissed her.

"I'll see you later?" He smiled at her quickly before letting her hand go, and walking off.

As if she needed something else to worry about.


	3. An Arrangement

The plan ended up as such: Nicholas would leave for his "travels" with a significant amount of money. His inheritance would be moved to his vault in July, after he was already gone. He left his key with Nora, who would move the money into her vault and over the summer and next year, would withdraw as much money as she could. While he was traveling, Nicholas would be setting up where they would "disappear" to. Nora would return to school in the fall and carry on as normal. By the end of her sixth year she would be of age. Nicholas would supposedly be on his way home to begin his job (arranged by their parents) at the Ministry of Magic. Instead of returning home, Nicholas would fetch her from the train station and the two would go visit their Great Aunt Ora for several months. It was the perfect meeting place to establish the final parts of their plan. Aunt Ora despised their mother so it was highly unlikely that their parents would at any point check up on them. A week before their scheduled return home, they would leave their Aunt Ora's and that's when they'd make their move.

Initially, Nora had been extremely hesitant to agree to it. There were so many parts that could be easily derailed. It was the day before Nicholas was planning to leave when Nora was reading in the Daily Prophet about a family that had been found dead with the Dark Mark above their home. The Death Eaters had even killed the two children. The oldest would have been going to Hogwarts in September for their first year. Why had they been killed? Nora recognized the family's name- Rowle. They were purebloods. The Dark Lord praised purebloods, making it clear they were the only people worth living. It was also known that anyone who didn't support him was at risk. Had the Rowles spoke against the Dark Lord?

No one was safe. It was then that Nora decided that potential failure or not, the plan was worth trying. If they failed, she had no doubt that their mother would find a way to sweep it under the rug. If they succeeded, well, they'd be free.

Since she'd returned home she hadn't had anymore visions. She hadn't actively tried to have any, but normally they'd just flash across her eyes at random. Nora wasn't bothered by this either way. She had always seen her ability with Divination as a blessing and a curse. That's why when she was finally unpacking her trunk after two weeks of being home, she was surprised to realize that she hadn't had any visions. She had pulled out her tarot cards and randomly flipped through the cards until she dropped one. She picked it up and looked at it- Death. Normally the death card didn't bother her. It was about an end, closure. It wasn't necessarily anything sinister, but once she saw the card her arms broke out in goosebumps and she was filled with a sense of dread.

A knock on her door pulled her out of thought. Before she could say anything the door swung open and her mother walked in. Nora carefully put away the cards back into her trunk and closed it.

"I'll have a house elf come and take care of that for you." She said.

"It's fine, I like unpacking."

"If you liked it you would have done it by now." She pursed her lips. "Polly!"

There was a loud crack and small elf appeared. She looked around quickly, and bowed once to Mrs. Lockwood and once to Nora. "Miss Nora, Miss Louisa!"

"Unpack Nora's school trunk immediately and then get back to work." Mrs. Lockwood snapped. The elf let out a squeak and hurriedly began unloading the trunk onto Nora's bed. Nora took a step back to give Polly more room.

"Now, Nora, there is something we need to discuss." Mrs. Lockwood, brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I expect you downstairs in five minutes. Your father and I will be waiting." With that she turned and left the room. Nora strode over to the door and pulled it shut.

"Polly you really don't need to do that for me." Nora turned to look at the elf who was busy tidying all of Nora's school books into the bottom drawer of her desk. The elf didn't stop working. Clearly she was more afraid of her mother. Nora just sighed and let Polly carry on. She was moving faster than Nora had been at any rate.

After a few minutes Nora begrudgingly headed for the main sitting room downstairs. He parents were waiting for her. Her mother was sitting in a high-backed chair with her hands clasped on her lab, and her ankles crossed. Her pale blonde hair was neatly curled and twisted into a low bun. Nora never thought she resembled her mother. They both had blue eyes but Nora's were darker and her mother's were an icy blue. Nora's features were a lot softer. There were angles but they were no where never as sharp as her mother's. Nora's hair was also much darker. She supposed she resembled her father more but still it wasn't quite a match. Where Mrs. Lockwood was fair, blonde, blue-eyed, Nathan Lockwood's hair and eyes were nearly black, and his skin was a warm honey color. Mikael looked very much like their father, all dark as well. Nicholas was a perfect blend of the two with his dark hair and the same icy blue eyes.

Nora glanced at her father who was sitting in an armchair flipping through the Daily Prophet.

"Why don't you take a seat?" He mother gestured to the chair across from her. Nora obliged and waited until she finally spoke again. "We need to talk about your future. You've had your OWLs and it's time to start planning. We've had these conversations with your brothers in the past. I think first and foremost, you need to sort out what you want to do for a living, if anything. Now, you know your inheritance will support you for your entire life should you choose not to work. Your father and I think that who ever you end up marrying, you do not combine your accounts. You can never be too safe."

"Okay?"

"Second, in thinking about your career I think you should drop Divination regardless of your grade." She paused. "It is not a useful subject."

"I don't want to drop it." Nora said without hesitation. "I enjoy it."

"I don't care."

"It is useful. It teaches you to think critically about what you see."

"It's not up for debate."

"You can't force me to drop it. It isn't up to you." Nora said, sitting up straighter. "The courses I take are up to me."

Her mother's jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed, but before she could retort, Mr. Lockwood cut it. "It hardly matters what she takes, Louisa."

She let out an impatient huff before squaring her shoulders. "Very well. Moving on. As you know, the people you associate with matter greatly. Which is why your father and I are working to find you a suitable husband."

"What?" Nora blinked.

"The person you marry is very important. We had always planned on you marrying Sirius Black but given everything, it is out of the question. I think Walburga was hoping you'd be able to bring him to his senses, but we can't risk it. She wants us to consider Regulus given his track record. We will but we are exploring _all_ our options."

"I don't want to marry Regulus."

"Well you might not have to, is my point."

"I'm only sixteen."

"Yes but it's important to plan ahead." Mrs. Lockwood said, smiling. "Now we were thinking about Evan Rosier. I believe he is in your year and your father and his have been good friends for many years."

"What?! Don't I get a say in this?"

"Of course you do, we are simply weeding out the…duds, so to speak." She smiled again.

Nora looked between her mother and father in confusion. "Are you serious?"

"Nora," Her father closed the paper and looked at her pointedly.

"You have to let us take care of you. You're our only daughter." Her mother said. Nora and her father were still looking at each other. She was searching for an explanation in his eyes but there was none. She shouldn't have been surprised really, but for some reason she was.

"Now, Mikael will be home for dinner and he is bringing some people with him. You'll need to be presentable." Her mother stood up from her seat and looked down at Nora. "Be ready by sixty thirty."

She glanced at Mr. Lockwood who had gone back to the paper.

Nora got up and left the room feeling as if this was her dismissal. She ran up the stairs and barricaded herself in her room. How would she last the summer with just her parents?

It turned out to be rather difficult.

The summer had passed slowly only broken up with occasional visits with Noelle. She spent most of her days in her room writing letters to Noelle when they weren't together. She had also been writing to Ava who offered for Nora to come with her family to France in July. Nora had seriously considered it, but she knew her parents would never let her go- especially since Ava's parents were Muggles. It as near the end of the month when an owl came to her window. It was the same owl that had been delivering her the occasional letter from Nicholas. This time is was carrying a small parcel. She opened it up eagerly. There was a small note on the top that read: _Incase we need to find each other. -N_

The small box held a necklace. The chain was thin, delicate, and silver with a small pendant of raw emerald. She was positive it was charmed. In the last letter she had written to Nicholas, she asked him what they would do if they got separated and couldn't find one another. This was his answer and it didn't make any sense to her. Nevertheless, she put the necklace on. She trusted him.

That evening her parents were hosting a dinner party full of guests Nora didn't want to see. The Rosier family would be there, as well as the Blacks, the Lestranges, and the Malfoys. When Nora came down to the dining hall, Narcissa and Lucius was seated across from Bellatrix and Rodolpholus Lestrange. Evan was there with his parents, as was Regulus. The only person missing was Sirius Black. She had noticed that the seat left available to her was across from Evan and Regulus. She couldn't help but feel as if her mother had planned that.

"Did you have to leave Sirius at home for bad behavior?" Nora asked.

"I don't know where he is." Regulus said, his jaw tight. "He's been disowned."

Nora just nodded and glanced at Evan, who wasn't paying attention. She leaned in slightly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I don't care what that blood traitor does." Regulus looked at her. She could see that he wasn't being totally honest.

"He's still your brother."

"Not anymore." He said with finality. She didn't say anything else. She wasn't sure why but she felt compelled to reach out to Sirius and make sure he was okay.

They only spoke once after what happened at New Year's. They had bumped into each other and she was vaguely certain he was on his way to prank some unsuspecting Slytherin given he was in the Dungeons well after classes had ended. They were the only two people in the corridor.

"Hi," She said. They both stopped and looked each other over.

"Hullo." He replied. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks." She didn't think he would have remembered something like that. After a moment she cracked. "Look, Sirius. I've been thinking over what you said the last time we, uh, spoke. It did mean something to me."

"Oh. I didn't know you-" He looked slightly pained.

"No! Not like that. I'm not into you or anything. Well, I mean, your fit and all but- anyway, what I mean is that you were really kind to me that night even though I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor. And I really doubt you'd know this, but that was the first time I'd ever…y'know?"

He blinked slowly. "Oh. Not to be crude or anything, but I'd have never guessed." He smirked. "You're quite skilled if you know what I mean."

Nora felt her face growing hot. "Thanks."

"I don't regret it, by the way." Sirius said. "Even though you are a Slytherin.

She rolled her eyes, "I don't either. I'll see you around."

Apart from their brief moment of staring at each during their Defense OWL, they hadn't spoken or even acknowledged each other since that. She felt her stomach tighten slightly at the news.

"Where are your brothers?" Evan asked me suddenly.

"Nicholas is travelling and I'm actually not sure where Mikael is." Nora glanced at her mother for confirmation but it was Bellatrix who answered.

"Mikael has an assignment." She said pointedly, heavy eyes widening. Evan looked between Bellatrix and Nora.

"Well, there you have it." Nora took a sip of water. Bella's eyes narrowed slightly but she didn't say anything more. The dinner proceeded without any issues. Mostly the adults talked politics while Evan talked to Regulus about school. Nora happily didn't contribute to any conversation. It wasn't until much later when everyone moved to the sitting room that Evan pulled her aside. They stayed in the dining room.

"You haven't responded to any of my letters." Evan said, his voice low.

"Do we really have to have this conversation again?" Nora sighed. "We aren't anything to each other anymore, Evan, but you just keep pushing. Please, just stop."

Evan didn't say anything, but gave her a brusque nod and stepped around her.

She let out a groan. She had decided that was all the socializing she could manage for one night.

Xxx

 _They stood in an unfamiliar room, each on opposite ends. The first man, dark haired and eyed, kept his expression emotionless but his eyes were full of fury. The other, also dark haired but with piercing blue eyes was crying._

 _"You don't have to do this." He said._

 _The first let out growl, "It's your fault."_

 _"Mikael, please. You're my brother."_

 _Mikael said nothing, his face tightened with anger or sadness, it was hard to tell. "You are a traitor! A coward, who has embarrassed us all."_

 _The blue eyed boy closed his eyes for a moment. "It's okay. You have to do it."_

 _Mikael stared at him, his hand tightly wrapped around his wand shook._

 _The pair stared at each other before Mikael raised his wand, illuminating the room with vivid green light-_

Nora sat up quickly, exhaling a sharp breath. The dream had felt so real. She felt her chest restricting as panic set in. She placed a hand to her necklace, the cool stone pressing into her skin as she tried to catch her breath. Was this simply a nightmare or possibly more? Nora had never experienced a vision in her dreams, so there was no real reason for the dread building in her stomach. But, it had felt so horrifically real.

"Nicholas, where are you?" She breathed, clutching at the necklace he had given her.

* * *

A/N:

Hello! Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far.

I'm adding a poem to the start of the first chapter so if you're curious what I'll be putting into preface the story, check it out.

xx.


	4. An End

Nora had been back at school for nearly a month. The school year had started out rather uneventfully. All of her professors had begun by explaining the importance of sixth and seventh years, NEWTs, etc.. Nora hadn't been surprised when she was the only student who decided to take NEWT level Astronomy. She and Professor Sinistra had discussed the possibility of her taking the course before OWLs. Apart of History of Magic it was probably one of the least popular of the core classes students had to take. But Nora loved it. She had a knack for it and easily was able to connect it with her Divination classes. Making the technical star charts for Astronomy and the Astrological ones for Divination was something she found insanely interesting. Her Divination class was not much larger. There were only a handful of students in the course. Professor Mopsus was thrilled to see all of them in the first class saying that all of his favorites had made the cut.

Unlike every other professor who began their first lecture stressing the importance of the coming year, Mopsus decided to take a more relaxed route.

"You may have noticed that we are in a new room this year and the reason is quite simple. I am just too old for all those stairs. Moving on, as you all know this class focuses heavily the skill of interpretation. True Sight cannot be taught, but how you examine the details is an invaluable skill. Up to now, I have taught you various forms of fortune telling techniques such as reading tea leaves, dream interpretation, astrology, palmistry, and so on. We will of course be continuing to do these things and more, but I would like to try something new with you all that I myself am quite new at." Mopsus paused and looked around eagerly at the students. Nora couldn't help but wonder why he bothered since he was mostly blind. "We are going to have a little story time!" He chuckled to himself and waved his wand at the window. The drapes pulled themselves closed, putting them in darkness for a moment before the fireplace was brought to life. Mopsus dropped himself into a rather squishy-looking armchair at the front of the room.

"This summer, after you all fled from your OWL examinations, I decided to travel to somewhere I'd never been. I have an old friend- older than I- who lives on the island of Kauai. There is a small herd of centaurs who live on the island. My friend had spent years building a relationship with the herd, which you should all know is an extraordinary feat. Centaurs are very distrustful of humans. But, I met with them and learned from them. I told them that I am a teacher of Divination. The centaurs are extremely skilled at reading the stars and often more accurate than the most skilled human. They normally would never share their skill with a human, but they made an exception. Perhaps the centaurs of Kauai are more open than those here in Europe." He paused to take a sip of his tea. Nora leaned forward slightly, her stomach tightening with excitement.

"The Kauai centaurs explained their method to me and I now would like to share it with all of you. Now be aware that it was very unlikely any of you will master it, as even I have not. Their connection with the universe is very different than ours, and I of course can only teach you what I have learned."

There was a moment of silence while the five students took in this information. "Professor?" A Hufflepuff girl said tentatively. Mopsus turned his head in her direction and nodded for her to continue. "How will we be graded on the, uh, centaur divination?"

"Ah. You will be graded only on your level of effort. If you do not try, you will fail. As I said, I too am learning and it would be quite cruel to grade you on skills I myself do not have." He said. "All other work will be graded as it has always been. If there are no other questions, I think we can end class early. I'm not in the mood to start teaching yet."

With this dismissal the students began packing up. Mopsus flicked his wand once more, this time to extinguish the fire and open the drapes. "Miss Lockwood, would you mind staying a moment."

Nora had just turned to leave. She paused before making her way to the front of the room where he sat. He flicked his wand and dragged a second armchair beside him. She sat down and waited while the rest of the students left. Once the door shut behind them, he turned to face her.

Professor Mopsus was fairly old with thick grey hair on his head and face. His beard was not quite as long as Dumbledore's, but still quite long. His skin was slightly yellow and his eyes had steadily been clouding over throughout the years. He was one of Nora's favorite professors.

"How are you doing, my dear?" He asked, picking up his tea cup.

"I'm fine." She said, crossing her legs. He made a noise.

"Would you like a cup?" He didn't wait for her to answer before producing a mug of tea before her.

"Are you going to read my tea leaves?" She chuckled before taking a sip. It was pleasantly warm.

"Is there something you'd like to know? Or rather, not know?" Mopsus raised one of his grey, hairy eyebrows.

"I'm sure anything you'd fine would be quite dull." She took another drink, glancing into the cup. She could see the leaves swirling in the bottom. "Professor, I was wondering… well I had a dream over the holiday and it felt meaningful, but I've never Seen anything through dreams before- nothing significant anyway."

He hummed, before emptying out his cup and swirling the dregs. "I find dreams to be the hardest to interpret. It's very similar to the crystal ball where it's just images, scenes. It's rarely anything whole or sensible. That's why interpretation can be very tricky. Some of the most talented Seers wasted their gifts because they failed in that aspect. Now, if you find that a dream is especially vivid there are a few possibilities. Of course it is possible that it was just a dream or a nightmare. More likely than not, that will be the case but you will know in your gut if it's something more." He paused and looked thoughtfully at his tea cup. "I do not believe the future is definite. So this vision could be a warning that you must adjust your path of this will be the consequence or the opposite. Seeing is not precise, you know this."

Nora had emptied her own cup and out of habit stirred the dregs.

"Let me see your cup." He held out his hand. Nora obliged. He brought it close to his face. Nora had always wondered how he was able to read leaves or see in the crystal ball with how poor his eyesight was. He frowned slightly and turned it over in his hands. Without a word he passed his cup to her. She looked away from Mopsus to examine his cup.

"What do you see?" Mopsus asked, not lifting his eyes.

"Uh, you have a spiral so creativity, energy…also maybe a cup for celebration?" Nora set down the cup on the little table beside his chair. He looked up finally and copied what she had done.

"You are full of stress, Nora. Change is coming and you cannot hide from it. You need to let go." Mopsus patted her hand. She opened her mouth but before she could speak he started up. "Now, the actual reason I asked you to stay was that I'd like to propose something to you. I would like to do additional lessons with you. I truly believe you have the Sight and I'd like to really work to hone your skills one on one. I've spoken with Professors Dumbledore and Slughorn, and they are on board if you are."

"Oh."

"Horace shared with me that you didn't know what career path you'd like to take after you finish school." Mopsus sighed. "If Divination is something you are passionate about there are a surprising amount of jobs out there that value the skill you have learned but also your gift as a Seer. Now I don't expect you to answer now. Let me know by the end of the week and we can go from there."

"Okay." She stood up and made her way to the door. Before she opened it though she paused. "Professor, did you see anything else in my cup?"

"Nothing you haven't already seen for yourself." He said, his voice slightly softer.

Xxx

"Nora, are you listening to me?" Noelle asked. Nora looked up at her and blinked slowly.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Who is that letter from?"

"Oh, Nicholas." Nora folded the letter and tucked it into her bag. She picked up her toast and turned her attention back to Noelle. "What were you saying?"

"It's really not that important…I was just debating on whether or not Avery is turning into a stalker." Noelle stabbed at her eggs. "I mean, why was he following me around during the Hogsmeade trip in October? He totally freaked Bertram out."

"I can't believe you went on a date with Bertram Aubrey," Nora smirked.

"Piss off. My point is that is Avery doesn't back off I'll make him." Noelle dropped her fork loudly and picked up an apple. She glanced down the table to where the guys were sitting. Unsurprisingly he was staring at her.

"Didn't you break up with him over the summer?" Nora looked at the group as well, briefly making eye contact with Evan who just nodded at her.

"On the train." Noelle said.

"It's not your fault you're irresistible." Nora chuckled when she kicked her under the table, but Noelle smiled nonetheless.

"Miss Zabini," Professor Slughorn came up behind Nora, surprising her when she heard his voice.

"Professor," Noelle nodded.

"Miss Lockwood, would you come with me?" He said, tone much more serious than she had ever heard.

"Uh, alright." Nora stood up and pulled her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you later," she added to Noelle.

She followed Slughorn from the Great Hall and down to the dungeons. He led her to his office, and gestured for her to take a seat opposite him. However, she paused in the door way. Standing near the fireplace was Professor Dumbledore. He turned as they entered.

"Am I in trouble?" Nora asked cautiously as she took a seat. Dumbledore moved to stand beside Slughorn who was awkwardly patting his stomach.

"Oh no, dear." Slughorn said quickly. He looked at Dumbledore with a frown.

"Miss Lockwood," Dumbledore began. "There is something we need to tell you. This morning I received several owls from both the ministry and your parents. You're older brother Nicholas has-"

"No." Nora stood up quickly, the chair scratching against the floor.

"Nora," Slughorn reached out and took her hand. "Nicholas has died."

Nora slowly sat back down, eyes blurring as she stared at the lines on the floor. Her chest was tightening painfully as her mind began to race. "I have to go to class." She swallowed painfully and reached for her bag.

"Miss Lockwood, you have been excused from your classes for the time being. Your mother has requested you return home immediately." Dumbledore adjusted his glasses. "All the arrangements have been made.

"But…I, I can't-" Nora looked between the two men. "I need to pack a bag."

"We can have someone-"

"No, I want to do it. I need to…I'll do it." She got out of her seat and rushed for the door. She pushed it open and took a sharp turn from Slughorn's office. She leaned against the wall once she had rounded the corner. It felt as if all the air had been sucked from her body. She clutched her chest and let her body rock against the wall.

"Are you okay?"

Nora looked up to see Sirius Black and James Potter. They froze at the sight of her. She shook her head quickly and gasped for air.

"Hey, just breathe." Sirius put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Breathe."

"I can't," She gasped and with that the tears began to fall. Sirius reached out and caught her just as her legs gave out. She grabbed onto him, letting out a sob. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't do anything.

"Should I get someone?" Potter asked from a few feet away.

Nora nodded against Sirius. "Noelle." Potter gave a quick nod and took off down the hall, digging in his pocket. Sirius's hand was smoothing her hair, as she cried in his arms.

They stayed like this, sitting on the cold stone floor for a while. Nora had stopped crying but was still shaking against him, her eyes slightly out of focus. Potter back nearly fifteen minutes later slightly out of breath. Noelle was right behind him, instantly dropping to the ground in front of Nora. She put her hands on her face, and examined her face.

"What's happened?" Noelle said, voice steady and calm as ever.

Nora just shook her head, feeling her eyes beginning to sting once more.

"You have to tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me." Noelle kept her eyes locked onto Nora's as she waited.

"Nicholas." Was all she said before tears began to fall once more. Noelle opened her mouth slightly before taking a deep breathe. She gently pulled Nora out of Sirius's arms and into her own. The two got to their feet and Noelle began to led her down the hall towards the Slytherin common room. She nodded to Potter as they passed each other. Noelle guided her the way back to their dorm and sat her down on her bed.

"I have to go home," Nora said softly, the tears falling silently now. Noelle nodded and began to move around the dorm collecting some of Nora's things into a bag. When Noelle finished the bag she sat down next to Nora and took her hand, her expression softer than normal.

"What do you need?" She asked softly. Nora swallowed and closed her eyes. Noelle didn't say anything but instead carefully wiped the tears from her face and smoothed her hair. They sat in the silence together until the door to their dormitory opened. Nora opened her eyes and quickly turned away to hide her face.

"What?" Noelle snapped.

"Uh, Professor Slughorn sent me to get Nora." Aria Greengrass said, her snooty voice slightly higher in pitch.

"I'll take her." Noelle got to her feet.

"He asked me-"

"I said, I will take her." Noelle said and after a moment the door slammed shut. "Let's go." Noelle's voice instantly softened as she shouldered Nora's bag. Nora took a deep breath before checking to her feet. She straightened her shoulders and shook out her hair. Noelle led the way from their room. The common room was fairly empty as most students were in class. Luckily they didn't have to go far before they were back in Slughorn's office. Slughorn jumped to his feet when they entered. Nora looked between him and the headmaster.

"I'm ready to go."


	5. New Rules

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"September 1977/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nora looked at herself in the mirror, twisting to the side to get a full view of herself. Her shirt was just slightly loose around her chest and bunched where it was tucked into her skirt. She sucked in her stomach to smooth it out before adjusting her tie. She leaned in close to the mirror to make sure her mascara hadn't smudged. On some level she supposed that this was the best she could look for classes. She could only do so much with the uniform. Her hair was a lot wavier than normal and her skin fairly even. With a final look, she shrugged on her robes and grabbed her bag. Nora made her way out of the dormitories and into the common room./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Hey," Evan smiled when he saw her and leaned in to kiss her cheek./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"She smiled and intertwined her fingers with his. "Ready to go?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Yeah," He led the way from the common room and up the staircase towards the Great Hall. Nora listened as Evan began to talk about their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. "He is completely unqualified. I can't believe they let riffraff like that teach at this school."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Well he can't be worse than Professor Calhoun from last year." Nora hadn't really given the new professor much thought over the past few weeks. He was fine from what she thought./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Calhoun was an prick, sure, but Ross is an idiot." Evan took a seat across from Snape and Noelle who had been discussing a potions assignment./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Hello," Nora said. "You left early this morning."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Noelle shrugged. "Severus offered to help me with my essay and since he's the best in our year at potions…" Snape ducked his head slightly, his too long hair hanging over his face./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""You should learn to take a compliment." Nora said, reaching for a piece of toast./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Snape glared at her and sneered, "I already know I'm the best at potions."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Is that why you let everyone think Lily Evans is?" Nora raised an eyebrow. Evan hid a laugh by coughing loudly and Noelle just took a sip of orange juice./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I don't-"'/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Come on Severus," Nora smiled coyly. "It's far too early in the morning for lies."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"His face hardened but before he could reply Evan coughed again and said, "Have you all heard the good news?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""About?" Noelle said, seemingly glad to change the subject. Nora frowned. She had yet to figure out why Noelle was bothered by people messing with Snape./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Regulus Black." Evan glanced down the table where Regulus was sitting with his fellow sixth years. Nora tried to keep her expression even as she moved her hand which was uncontrollably clenching to her lap, and out of view. Noelle shook her head. Both her and Snape were looking at Evan, waiting for an explanation. Evan smirked, "He's been given the Dark Mark."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Snape's eyes widened with obvious excitement. Noelle only raised an eyebrow. She looked at Nora briefly, making eye contact. Neither said anything./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Seriously? He's got to be the youngest." Snape said./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""We've got to get to class." Noelle said with a quick glance at her watch. Evan glanced at his own before looking at Nora./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'll see you later." She smiled and gave him a quick kiss before getting to her feet. She and Noelle made their way from the Great Hall, and headed for the stairs. Noelle didn't say anything as they headed for Transfiguration. The rest of the class was waiting outside the room. This one the only one of Nora's classes with an overwhelming amount of Gryffindors. The so-called "Maraurders" were huddled in a group, no doubt trying to come up with a new way to wreck havoc on the school. Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnion, and Dorcas Meadowes were several feet away. Nora and Noelle were the only Slytherins who had decided to take NEWT level Transfiguration. There were a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. Ava Allaire, whom Nora considered a good friend was also in this class. She was standing with the Gryffindor girls, but came over when she saw Nora./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Hey, how are you?" Ava asked. She had a nice, wide smile. Nora always felt like Ava was the human embodiment of sunshine- all blonde, bright, and happy. She always seemed to radiate./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Fine, you?" Nora said./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm alright," She glanced at Noelle but didn't say anything to her. "Are we still on to study later?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Yeah, I could definitely use your expertise in Herebology." Nora smiled. The door of the classroom opened and people began to file in./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'll see you later," Ava smiled at Nora before turning to go into class. Noelle pursed her lips./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""What?" Nora asked as they made their way to their seats./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I didn't say anything."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""That's the problem." Nora let her bag fall to the ground with a pronounced thud./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Just because you're friends with her, doesn't mean I have to be." Noelle said./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I didn't say you had to," Nora looked at her. "I just don't see why you won't give her a chance."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I tried to."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nora made at face at her, knowing that Noelle's version of trying wasn't enough to make anyone warm up to her. But, Nora decided not to push it as class began. She reached for her bag to get out a quill and some parchment but paused when she noticed she was bleeding. There were small, crescent shaped cuts across her palm from where her nails had dug into her skin. She hadn't even realized she had done that. She quickly wiped her hand against her robes before grabbing a quill. As she straightened up she made eye contact with Sirius Black. His expression was neutral, which was usually they case when they acknowledged each other's existence. She turned her eyes back to the front of the room where Professor McGonagall was beginning the lecture./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nora hadn't spoken to Sirius since that day. In fact, she had gone out of her way to avoid him the rest of the school year and the beginning of this one. He hadn't tried to approach her so she wasn't exactly sure why she went out of her way to avoid his path. Even after a year, Nora felt as if it had just happened yesterday. She could still feel herself stepping out of the floo with her tear stained face to an empty room. She had expected at least someone to be waiting for her, but they hadn't been. Instead her parents and Mikael were in the dining room, sitting there. When she saw them all there her body felt as if It was burning. She had lost all common sense and flung herself at Mikael in a rage. She can still hear the voice that was her own, but strangled and wrong, screaming at Mikael. She had knocked him to the floor and had shoved her elbow against his throat before her father grabbed her around the middle and pulled her off. You killed him, I know you killed him. I hate you. She had said the words over and over and over until she was hoarse. Her father didn't let go of her even after she had fallen silent and stopped struggling, The four of them had stayed like that for hours- Mikael on floor, their father holding Nora, and their mother sitting painfully straight in the chair. None of them said a word until finally, her father took a controlled stepped away from Nora, let out a shaky breath, and left the room. Mrs. Lockwood stiffly got to her feet and looked between Nora and Mikael./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I would give both of you to have Nicholas back."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nora glanced back at Sirius who wasn't even pretending to take notes. He flicked a ball of parchment at the back of Remus Lupin's head, who didn't even bother to turn around to look at his friend./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Mr. Black, please stop harassing Lupin." McGonagall said with an exasperated sigh./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Yeah, Sirius." Potter said just a bit too loudly./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Potter!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Please be quiet." Potter and Black glanced at each other, each smirking. Lupin stretched out his body just enough so he could hit Sirius in the face. McGonagall didn't seem to notice this at all, and if she did she must've felt Black deserved it./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Noelle poked Nora in the side, making her jump just enough to spill her bottle of ink. "Dammit!" Nora exclaimed, completely forgetting where she was./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Miss Lockwood!" McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "For what reason did you think it appropriate to not only swear but to also shout it?!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I…" Nora looked down at her ink covered hands and notes. Noelle was attempting to stifle a laugh./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I cannot began to understand what is so amusing Miss Zabini…I mean, did you all get together this morning and decide to behave like children?" The entire debacle had clearly set her over the edge as she assigned twice as much homework then they usually had and added an extra foot to their next essay./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The class ended on a very sour note. Nora was able to clean up her desk easily enough, but her hands were stained and the notes were not salvageable. Noelle had found it all very amusing./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm going to go try and clean my hands." Nora said, waving Noelle off as she headed for her next class. Nora dragged her feet as she headed for the girls bathroom. She wasn't paying very much attention which is why it was extremely startling when she walked straight into someone else./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Good Lord!" She exclaimed, catching herself from falling over. She blinked up at Sirius Black. How he had managed to get around her and then head in the opposite direction was beyond her./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Sorry." He frowned, sticking his hands in his pocket. They looked at each other a bit awkwardly./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Well I guess-" Nora began but he interrupted her./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm sorry about your brother." He blurted out. Her chest tightened uncomfortably. "I meant to tell you after…everything, but there was never a good time."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""And now is?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""No! I just meant- I'm sorry."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Well, thanks." Nora shifted her weight and looked up at him. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that even though Sirius was a stranger to her, he had seen her vulnerable numerous times. It was unnerving to think about. "Why did you feel like you had to say something?" She asked after a moment./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He shrugged. Nora couldn't help but notice that he was always significantly more reserved when he was speaking to her. It was almost as if he was falling into an old habit instilled in him from being a good little pureblood boy./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'll see you around," He stepped around her, but she stopped him./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Where did you go after your parents disowned you?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He blinked. "I ran away." His voice hardened slightly./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Oh, well that's not what everyone said." Nora said, her tone was perfectly innocent but, she knew she was being unnecessarily mean./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I don't care what they say." He said. Sirius glared at her./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""But that's not true is it?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""They can rot for all I care." His jaw clenched. "I don't give a damn what they think or do."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nora smiled and leaned in slightly. "Don't worry, Sirius. Your secret is safe with me."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""What are you talking about? I haven't got a secret!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Everyone has secrets." Nora patted his shoulder, mildly surprised he didn't move to avoid her touch. "You're quite easy to rile up, did you know that?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""What?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Sirius, could I tell you one of my secrets?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He blinked in confusion. She leaned even closer to him and stretched so her mouth was beside his ear. Instead of saying anything she lightly pressed her lips against his neck, in the space between his ear and jaw. When she stepped away he was gaping at her. "See you," she said before brushing past him. Nora didn't know exactly what had possessed her to antagonize and then kiss him, but it had been fun to mess with him. Perhaps it had been because he mentioned her brother and it hurt her to even think his name. Or, maybe it was because she wanted to be reckless- to be cruel to people who didn't deserve it, to tempt people she shouldn't, to tempt herself… So much had changed in the last year. Nora had changed. She had drawn back into herself and strengthened her front of the perfect daughter. She started dating Evan— a "nice" boy from a respectable family. He was already involved with the Death Eaters and in the end that's why she agreed to date him. He was the perfect cover. If she dated someone like him, it would give the appearance that she was nothing but a good pureblood girl. Because after the funeral she had found Nicholas's journal. The journal he kept all their plans in. When she found it in his room all the pages were blank. She flipped through it over and over again, unable to accept that it was empty or that it was a different journal. Even though it was blank she decided to keep it. Before she was to go back to school and had taken off her necklace. Seeing it against her skin made her feel ill. She placed it in the journal and packed it away./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It had been months when she was finally able to look at the journal again. She hadn't even been looking for the journal but the necklace. When she had opened the journal, she noticed that the page her necklace had laid against now had a neat, familiar script. She stared at the words, unable to understand what it meant. It wasn't in English. She spent several days trying to figure out what it meant or even what language it was in. It came to her in the middle of the night. She was staring at the canopy around her bed when she figured it out. She grabbed the journal and her wand. She touched it to the page. "Where are you Nicholas?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With those words the page began to fill up with words and sketches. She flipped through the book to see it now full of black ink tracing out the plan. She wasn't even able to read any of it because she had started crying instantly, partly out of relief and partly out of grief./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Since then, Nora had made a conscious effort to keep up all appearances to keep attention away from what she was really doing. The only thing she hadn't done was to cut Ava out of her life. It had been half a year since she began this phase of her plan, and she was feeling restless. Perhaps Sirius could help with that./p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"AN: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I'm not pleased with the end of this chapter but ya girl has to figure out a way to set up the drama. In case you were confused this chapter takes place one year after the last one. Timing of the story will be more regular now, but I wanted to set up some background stuff before!/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Hope you keep reading and bear with me through typos, long updates, and so on!/p 


	6. Unfinished Business

Nora tapped her foot against the leg of the table eyes slightly unfocused.

"What're you doing?" Ava looked at her with raised eyebrows, pulling her out of her revere.

"Nothing," She sighed. Nora picked up her quill but almost immediately set it back down. "I have a question."

Ava shifted in her seat. "Is this a Herebology question or…?"

"No."

"Alright," she chuckled and set down her quill.

Nora thought for a second. "Why don't you like Noelle?"

"It's not-" Ava started. "It's not that I don't like her so much as I don't understand why you do."

"She's my best friend."

"But why? She just… she isn't a very nice person." Ava looked at her hands.

"Neither am I." Nora frowned.

"That's not true." Ava looked at her intently. "You just pretend not to be."

"What makes you think Noelle isn't pretending too?" Nora countered. Ava thought this over.

"I suppose you're right, but it's not like she likes me either."

Nora smiled, "Noelle is tough, but she is the most loyal person I know. I am positive she would kill someone for me if I wanted her too."

Ava shot her a small smile but didn't say anything right away. "Do you remember when I went out with Remus last year?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I didn't say anything, but Noelle and Severus Snape found us in the library one night. The things Snape said were horrible and cruel, and she just stood there. She didn't say a word until she told him they needed to go." Ava pursed her lips. "I don't get how someone could just stand there and not do something."

Nora let out sigh. "Ava, it's no excuse but that's what people like Noelle are taught. She isn't suppose to interfere. She's suppose to just be in the background. Our families don't tolerate disagreement… I mean, I know I've been that person. Besides, if Noelle agreed with whatever Snape said she wouldn't have stopped him- even just to say they needed to leave."

"That sounds like cowardice." Ava said.

"It is, sometimes," Nora said. They looked at each other, brown eyes to blue. "Some people can't…Sometimes being a coward keeps you alive."

"But what kind of life is that?" Ava frowned.

"Its still life." Nora swallowed thickly. Ava opened her mouth but quickly closed it.

"Sorry." Ava frowned and looked down at her parchment. She had drawn little examples of the plants from her notes. "You know you can talk to me about it, if you ever want?"

Nora grimaced. "Thanks, but I'm okay." They sat in silence, both just working on their homework. Ava was using a small pen to doodle devil's snare.

"I was surprised that you started dating Evan Rosier again." Ava didn't look up as she darkened the outline. Nora didn't say anything for a moment.

"I know you don't like him," She said carefully.

"I don't understand you," Ava said slightly too loud. They paused, making sure Madame Pince didn't hear them. "I don't get it Nora."

"What?"

"Why do you surround yourself with bad people?" Ava shook her head. "It doesn't make sense to me. You are a good person but no one would be able to tell by looking at the people you surround yourself with. I don't just _dislike_ Rosier. He is repulsive."

"You said it was Mulciber-"

"Nora, he was still there. He let it happen." Ava squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "You walked me to the Hospital Wing and stayed with me the entire night even though they tried to make you leave. We weren't even friends. You're still the only person who knows what happened, besides them. I trust you and I trust who you are, but I don't understand. I saw it. I saw how much you hated him then and I can see now that you don't love him. So, please. Just tell me?"

Despite having whispered most of it, it had felt as if Ava had screamed at her. Nora opened her mouth but quickly closed it and looked around. Madame Pince rounded the corner with narrowed eyes.

"I can't- I don't know how to tell you what's going on."

Ava didn't say anything but rather just sighed. She looked at her hands.

"Ava, hey," Nora said, waiting for Ava to return her gaze. "Don't for a second think that I've forgotten or forgiven him for what happened. I can't explain it, especially here and now, but I…I have a plan and dating Evan is like…hiding in plain sight."

Ava thought about that, "Okay. I trust you."

"I promise I'll tell you everything. I just can't now." She took a deep breath. "Let's get out of this library, alright?"

xxx

 _Her fingers grazed his skin, lightly tracing from his jaw to his lips. His skin was smooth and pale, coming alive from her touch. She rested her head against his chest, listening for his heart beat. There was none. She frowned, squeezing her eyes closed even tighter. It was silent, hollow. She took a step back and blinked up at his face. He looked at her, impassively._

 _"You have to decide."_

 _"What?" Her voice echoed as if she was speaking under water._

 _"You have to take a side, Nora. You can't just runaway."_

 _"What are you talking about? What sides?" Nora shook her head, confused. He seemed to be moving in fast forward, his gestures jerky and quick._

 _"Nora." He said it gently, despite his erratic state. It was as if his body was moving a million miles an hour. He smiled widely and then froze. His body was still, eyes wide and a laugh on his lips. There was a flash of green around them and he stumbled back-_

Nora's eyes flew open to see the canopy of her bed. She took a shaky breath and rolled her head to see the clock. It was ten after four in the morning. She sighed, and shifted slightly to try and get comfortable. Unfortunately, she was wide awake now. The dream hadn't made any sense to her. It was almost as if she was getting a glimpse of the future but different ones, at different times.

She hadn't acknowledged any dreams that seemed more than dreams in a long time. After everything, she shut her mind. She didn't want to see visions or read the signs. She wanted to be like the average Hogwarts student who thought Divination was a joke. If she ever did have a dream or a feeling even, she pushed it from her mind. She didn't care, or she didn't want to. But, something about this was different. She could feel it in her gut that it wasn't just a dream, it was definitely more than that, but she didn't know for sure. She was out of practice in interpretations.

The only thing she was absolutely certain of was she and Sirius Black had unfinished business.

* * *

AN: Hi all, thanks for reading! Here is a quick little chapter just to get me back to this story. I'm annoying busy every day of my life. Please stick with me :)


	7. Author Note

Author's Note:

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to post a note here. I am technically discontinuing this story. I found that there were just so much more that needed to happen (i.e. voices). So I am redoing these chapters in a multi-perspective version. If you check out that story: Young Gods, you will find that the first 3 chapters are essentially the first 4 of this story. It will be a multiple POV story and Nora will be one of the main characters.

Hopefully you check it out!

Thanks for reading thus far!


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